UCS Community Education

The PADI Open Water Diver course includes three parts: Knowledge Development, Confined Water Dives, and Open Water Dives. Knowledge Development covers the principles, concepts and terms you need to know for dive safety and enjoyment. During the Confined Water Dives, you learn and practice scuba skills in a pool or water with pool-like conditions. You’ll enjoy making one or more mini-dives, which take you through the same steps you follow when you make open water dives. To complete training you practice, apply and demonstrate what you learn during four Open Water Dives at a local dive site. Earning a PADI Open Water Diver certification shows that you've met the course requirements. Dive centers and resorts require proof of certification before they will rent scuba equipment, fill scuba cylinders or book dive excursions. As a PADI Open Water Diver, you’ll be trained to a maximum depth of 18 meters/60 feet, and are qualified to dive in conditions as good as, or better than, those in which you trained. It’s just the beginning of a lifetime filled with dive adventures.

Want to stay warm? Want to extend your scuba diving season? Then dive dry. A drysuit seals you off from the water and keeps you comfortable, even in surprisingly cold water. There is incredible diving in the world's cooler regions like our Great Lakes, conditions are even better in colder months. Becoming a drysuit diver allows you to expand your boundaries and dive more places, more often. If you're at least 12 years old and certified as a PADI (Junior) Open Water Diver or higher, you can enroll in the Drysuit Diver course.

If extreme, unusual and challenging scuba diving scenarios appeal to you, try diving under the ice. Ice diving is one of the most adventurous scuba specialties because you confront conditions and see beauty few others ever experience. Plus, you might get a chance to play with your exhaled bubbles on the bottom of the ice. Flash your PADI Ice Diver certification card to get instant respect, and usually a lot of questions from other divers about what it's like under the ice. You need to be a PADI Advanced Open Water Diver who is at least 18 years old to enroll in the Ice Diver course. eLearning and virtual classroom will be scheduled before the dive weekend.